News from the Northwest Conference

Gather '14 Follow-Up

2 churches welcomed, 17 candidates ordained from NWC during Covenant Annual Meeting

Gather '14, a "re-visioning of the Annual Meeting experience," took place June 23-28 in Chicago. The five-day Gather '14 event encompassed Experience Chicagoland, the Covenant Ministerium Annual Meeting, and the Covenant Annual Meeting.

Jeremy and Keri Berg, MainStreet Covenant Church

John and Mary March, New City Covenant Church

We celebrate with the two NWC churches welcomed into ECC membership (New City Covenant Church, Edina, MN, and MainStreet Covenant Church, Mound, MN), and the 17 candidates who were ordained during the Covenant Annual Meeting:

Erick Abramson - Bloomington Covenant Church, Bloomington, MN

Todd Bratulich - First Covenant Church, Minneapolis, MN

Laurel Buwalda - Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD

Renee Franzen - Brookdale Covenant Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Bruce Helgeson - Hope Church, Grand Forks, ND

David Hugare - Zion Covenant Church, Ellsworth, WI

Robert Jacobson - Restoration Covenant Church, Apple Valley, MN

Joel Johnson - Rochester Covenant Church, Rochester, MN

Scott Jorgenson - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Joel Jueckstock - Maple Grove Hospital, Maple Grove, MN

James Murphy - Evangelical Covenant Church, Bemidji, MN

Soudinh Penkhay - Laotian Covenant Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Judy Peterson - Excelsior Covenant Church, Excelsior, MN

Jane Spriggs - Monticello Covenant Church, Monticello, MN

Jo Anne Taylor - First United Methodist Church, New Ulm, MN

Kirsten Wagenius - InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, St Cloud, MN

Micah Witham - Awaken Covenant Community, Lilydale, MN

Meeting Resources

Gather '14 and the Covenant Annual Meeting featured many other ministry highlights of interest to our churches. Check out the links below for a collection of resources from the meeting.

Download the Delegate Summary

Read New stories on the Covenant Newswire from the Annual Meeting

View services and messages from the Annual Meeting

View pictures from various Gather '14 events on Flickr

Youth Ministry

Adventures in Leadership: Developing Upcoming Leaders

"Developing student leaders" is a value woven into the Northwest Conference mission. We see it as vital not just for the future church, but for the current one as well. For over 25 years, the Conference has led a week-long leadership intensive for high school students known as Adventures in Leadership (AIL), with the goal of developing strong, young leaders who will step up to lead in their churches and their communities. It takes place at Adventurous Christians (AC) every June, with AIL 2104 taking place June 21-28.

Their churches nominate the AIL participants as high schoolers who show strong leadership potential. This group of select students spends a week up in the Boundary Waters area learning about Biblical leadership models and character qualities, spiritual disciplines and wilderness skills. They put their knowledge into action by heading out on a canoe trip in small groups where each student leads for half a day, and then receives constructive feedback from the accompanying youth pastor, AC guide and the other students.

As one participant said, "It gives a rare chance to lead without serious consequences and shows how to lead in a Godly way."

Students come away from the experience having learned valuable leadership lessons. Here are some of their reflections:

"Over this week I was reminded how Christ should be reflected in my leadership, and how the desire to lead should be for the furthering of the Kingdom and not my own gain."

"Before AIL, I didn't think of myself as a leader. But during this week, I realized that God can and will use anyone with any personality and leadership style for His purposes."

"Adventures in Leadership taught me a lot about myself, my leadership styles and abilities, and what I need to improve on to make myself a stronger leader."

"My being effective as a leader depends on me being selfless enough to bring joy to others, and being joyful in my own soul."

"I feel like God is calling me into a leadership role in my youth group."

Mitch Downing, one of the youth pastors serving at AIL, summed it up well: "Adventures in Leadership explores the idea of Christian leadership on an extremely thorough level. People are challenged mentally, physically and spiritually to launch upcoming leaders to a place where they see the need to step up and fill a void in the Kingdom."

View and download photos from AIL 2014

AIL 2015 will take place June 20-27

Youth Ministry

MUUUCE ... It's not too late!

Aug. 7-9, Crossroads Church, Woodbury, MN

You can still register your group for MUUUCE! This great event is geared for middle schoolers and junior highers: from talks that hit on their issues and challenge them to grow closer to God to crazy games, ValleyFair, a wild welcome party and more!

Find more info here: northwestconference.org/children-youth-family/muuuce

Ministry Opportunity

Redeemer Covenant to host event featuring president of ECC of Kenya

Pastor Simon Kamau, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Kenya, will be at Redeemer Covenant Church, Brooklyn Park, MN, on Sunday evening, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. The evening will be a special time for Covenant churches in our Conference to hear firsthand about the ministry taking place in Kenya.

Don Camp of Arvada Covenant Church in Arvada, CO, last year saw the mission focus of the Kenyan Covenant Church, "is targeting the poor and truly needy as opposed to the more affluent." Don also commented (in a Covenant Newswire article) about the dedication of Pastor Simon and other church leaders in Kenya, "I was floored to learn that these pastors receive no salary, no compensation," Camp said. "It is strictly a labor of love."

Join other Covenant churches to hear from Pastor Simon Kamau on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m., Redeemer Covenant Church, 7801 Brooklyn Blvd., Brooklyn Park. Call (763) 561-8769 for more information.

Covenant Trust Company

What are your Estate Planning Goals?

John Ruskin, a 19th century critic and architect, once wrote: "When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work, as our descendants will thank us for ... they will say, as they look upon the labor and the rock substance of them: 'See that is what our father and mother did for us.'"

Ruskin understands that when we build, we don't just build for the present and we don't just build for ourselves. We build for the future; we build for those who come after us. We can look at estate planning in a similar way.

We work to make money, and we make money to save and invest so we can accumulate assets and provide the things we want and need. But what do we want our money, investments and assets to achieve after we pass?

Asking yourself this question can help you set estate planning goals and make decisions for your will or Revocable Living Trust. Viewing your estate as a tool to accomplish goals instead of something to divvy up can give you a better idea of how to use, grow and pass along your investments and assets.

Covenant Trust Company can help you define and achieve your estate planning goals. For more information, contact one of our local Financial Service Representatives, and let us know what you want your legacy to be:

Kevin Lawson, CFP�, 1-877-222-3960 or kelawson@CovenantTrust.com

Steve Allison, ChFC, 1-877-768-1766 or srallison@CovenantTrust.com

To read more, please visit http://www.covenanttrust.com/news/

To request information, please visit http://www.covenanttrust.com/info/

2014 Retreat: Save the date

The NWC Ministerial Association Retreat for pastors, church ministry staff and spouses, will be held Oct. 6-8, 2014, at Ruttgers' Sugar Lake Lodge, just southwest of Grand Rapids, MN. For a look at this beautiful setting, visit www.sugarlakelodge.com.

Mark Novak will address the creation of high trust cultures and environments of grace in our various venues of spiritual influence, including staff relationships and church leadership.

Save the date and look for more info and registration materials soon!

NWC Website
Church Resource Bank

Our website features a great tool for churches requesting or giving away materials and resources. On the Church Resource Bank page, you can browse available requests or give-aways, and submit a new resource to share with churches in need.

July 9, 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

Gather '14 Follow-Up

Youth Ministry: AIL 2014

Youth Ministry: MUUUCE 2014

Ministry Opportunity

Covenant Trust Company: What are your Estate Planning Goals?

Ministerial Association Retreat

NWC cal icon tan

July 19, 2014

Covenant Softball Tournament - Fridley Community Park, Fridley, MN

August 7-9, 2014

MUUUCE - Crossroads Church, Woodbury, MN

September 3-5, 2014

CRIM (Covenanters Retired in Ministry) Retreat - Covenant Pines Bible Camp

October 6-8, 2014

Ministerial Association Retreat - Sugar Lake Lodge

October 7-8, 2014

Faith Community Nurse Retreat - Covenant Pines Bible Camp

November 8, 2014

IMAGINE - Salem Covenant Church, New Brighton, MN

November 8, 2014

VIVE - Location TBD

Covenant Newswire

Tour de North Gives Sanctuary Members Different View of Community

Discipleship School Students Can Earn NPU Credit

NWC Job Postings Page

Pastors and ministry leaders, if you have people in your congregation who are exploring ministry, on a part- or full-time basis, please refer them to our job postings page.